The Disney Plus streaming service has introduced me to so many unexpected delights old and new that I would not have otherwise bothered with.
This is one such unexpected surprise. In fact, I actually did read the novel a few years ago and I hated the saccharine overly done "love" theme and in your face religious aspects (I do enjoy subtle religious underpinnings in movies that give good morals but not when it's in your face). The book had some standout sequences that are memorable but overall it was not a children's book that I liked. To give you context, I adore children fantasy stories such as Tom's Midnight Garden, Moondial, Narnia series, Harry Potter, Dark Materials, etc.
But I do love the promotional images of this film, it looks lavish and at least I thought to watch it just to appreciate the visuals. I am one who never ever watch or read something based on other people's opinions. I will decide for myself and I literally judge a book by its cover.
One of the many positive stand outs in this film is the surprisingly nuanced performances of all the child stars. Particularly, 9 year old Deric Mcabe who literally stole the show for perhaps a good quarter of the movie's runtime. What a delicious performance, I hope this young child actor is well taken care of, has a happy childhood and not pushed into a career for the sake of wealth. But as long as he wishes to continue on that path, he will have my attention of high anticipation for greatness. The main star, 14 year old Storm Reid was also impressive with some moments of very heart felt nuances. There is no forced acting that one expects with child actors. The adult stalwarts did their part in their accomplished professional ways.
But the film itself turned out to be a lovely visual journey with some heartfelt moments of psychological drama and surreal weirdness (something I wish it had delve into further)
It has it's plentiful flaws for sure but seeing all those one star ratings is just utter madness. One of those flaws is a certain obvious godliness of Oprah Winfrey's presence that seems a bit unnecessary. I like Oprah, I just don't think it was really needed for her to be so godly! Being the leader would have sufficed.
Another criticism I would have is that this could have done with much more humour. Reese Witherspoon's character has some comic relief moments but..just didn't feel enough.
What I really appreciated is that unlike the book, this film gives a satisfying complete story. The book had sequels to complete it's main storyline. But as with all movie adaptations, much is cut out and I do feel the stripping down of some of the novel makes the flow of the film rather too haphazard.
But the film works for me. It has some memorable sequences and is not anywhere as saccharine as I feared it would be. The journey is disjointed but the performances, visual imagination, Deric Mcabe's show stealing sequence and overall storyline makes up for the shortcomings.
I give this a very worthy 7/10.
This is one such unexpected surprise. In fact, I actually did read the novel a few years ago and I hated the saccharine overly done "love" theme and in your face religious aspects (I do enjoy subtle religious underpinnings in movies that give good morals but not when it's in your face). The book had some standout sequences that are memorable but overall it was not a children's book that I liked. To give you context, I adore children fantasy stories such as Tom's Midnight Garden, Moondial, Narnia series, Harry Potter, Dark Materials, etc.
But I do love the promotional images of this film, it looks lavish and at least I thought to watch it just to appreciate the visuals. I am one who never ever watch or read something based on other people's opinions. I will decide for myself and I literally judge a book by its cover.
One of the many positive stand outs in this film is the surprisingly nuanced performances of all the child stars. Particularly, 9 year old Deric Mcabe who literally stole the show for perhaps a good quarter of the movie's runtime. What a delicious performance, I hope this young child actor is well taken care of, has a happy childhood and not pushed into a career for the sake of wealth. But as long as he wishes to continue on that path, he will have my attention of high anticipation for greatness. The main star, 14 year old Storm Reid was also impressive with some moments of very heart felt nuances. There is no forced acting that one expects with child actors. The adult stalwarts did their part in their accomplished professional ways.
But the film itself turned out to be a lovely visual journey with some heartfelt moments of psychological drama and surreal weirdness (something I wish it had delve into further)
It has it's plentiful flaws for sure but seeing all those one star ratings is just utter madness. One of those flaws is a certain obvious godliness of Oprah Winfrey's presence that seems a bit unnecessary. I like Oprah, I just don't think it was really needed for her to be so godly! Being the leader would have sufficed.
Another criticism I would have is that this could have done with much more humour. Reese Witherspoon's character has some comic relief moments but..just didn't feel enough.
What I really appreciated is that unlike the book, this film gives a satisfying complete story. The book had sequels to complete it's main storyline. But as with all movie adaptations, much is cut out and I do feel the stripping down of some of the novel makes the flow of the film rather too haphazard.
But the film works for me. It has some memorable sequences and is not anywhere as saccharine as I feared it would be. The journey is disjointed but the performances, visual imagination, Deric Mcabe's show stealing sequence and overall storyline makes up for the shortcomings.
I give this a very worthy 7/10.